10 Tips to Support Children During Exam Season

And it’s our job as teachers and parents to keep them calm and help them through.

Dr Sandra Passmore, an Education Adviser for the Health Education Service, has some last-minute handy tips for you to share with your students and children, to help them to survive revision and exam days.

Why not print them out and put them up around your classroom/ on your fridge at home and read one out each day?

Before major sporting events such as Olympics, athletes train hard but they are also careful to rest their bodies so they hit peak fitness on the day of the key events.

Preparing your mind for exams is the same.

So here are a few tips to help you hit the ground running.

1. Have a revision plan

It may sound obvious but planning can make a huge difference and make sure you revise the subjects/topics you don’t like as well as the ones that you do like.

The annoying thing about knowledge is that it’s all tightly rolled up inside your head; you can’t just spread it out on the floor, like a rug, and see where the gaps and threadbare bits are.

In terms of revision, however, your job is to try to achieve this overall picture, to identify not just what you do know, but what you don’t.

2. Sleep

Nothing can relax your mind better than a good night’s sleep. Sleep can make your memory function better, as it helps to boost long-term memory.

Avoid studying late in the night.

Not getting enough sleep make sure more likely to be anxious and stressed and cannot perform well in exams.

Teenagers need 8-10 hours sleep a night – make sure you get this.

3. Eat breakfast

Meet breakfast, your new study buddy.

While much is said about the reasons to eat breakfast, less known are the best ways to eat smart in the morning.

Coffee and a doughnut just don’t do the trick.

So, a bowl of cereal with milk or toast and glass of milk or fruit juice.